


dizzy on the comedown

by Limonium



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Dark Harry, Do not post to another site, Established Relationship, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, mention of that one Billy Stubbs rabbit, mentions of animal death, same age au, so many kisses its great
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 08:07:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20386450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Limonium/pseuds/Limonium
Summary: Tom and Harry visit Hogwarts after the war.





	dizzy on the comedown

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wynnebat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wynnebat/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [wynnebat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wynnebat/pseuds/wynnebat) in the [TomarryFlashExchanges](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/TomarryFlashExchanges) collection. 
  * In response to a prompt by [wynnebat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wynnebat/pseuds/wynnebat) in the [TomarryFlashExchanges](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/TomarryFlashExchanges) collection. 

> **Prompt:**  
Harry/Tom, cuddling in the common room  
Dark Harry, marriage proposal
> 
> fixed my mistakes, my bad 😂

_Now collapse_  
_Take delight in the fall _  
_And catch your breath _  
_I know you feel the ring from it all _  
_So try to collect yourself now _  
_It's just a euphoric comedown_  
\-- dizzy on the comedown, Turnover

  
  
Whenever he comes back to visit Hogwarts, nostalgia pours over him, a mild current that easily drowns him with memories. He used to tease Tom over his stoic and apathetic facade, but Harry can easily notice the minute softening of his eyes, his frigid stance and stiff shoulders slowly relaxing, his body getting a little bit closer to him as they stand in front of the humongous main doors of the castle. 

Tom's curls sway a little from the early morning breeze, his head tilted up, eyes tracing the restored parts of the wooden door and the (non-existent now) cracks on the wall. 

"The goblins did a good job don't you think?" Harry whispers, and he feels that he may have been a bit breathless watching Tom for perhaps not even longer than a minute. 

Tom's head doesn't turn to him but he does squeeze Harry's hand in his. 

*

_ We used to hide in here_, Harry absently thinks, free hand idly brushing the patterned-tile wall. The still-in-ruins Prefect bathroom is missing a huge chunk of the tub floor. Harry comes closer, his fingers leaving Tom's, as he walks around the edge of the human-sized crater. The main pipe in the middle appears unaffected from the fighting, but Harry still feels a little wounded from the destruction. 

He suddenly feels the air grow a bit heavier, and pieces of grayish rock and broken tiles come together. The debris collecting within the crater quickly fill the gaps and seamlessly fit like nothing has ever touched the place at all.

He turns to Tom, but Tom is unsurprisingly already close behind him, burgundy eyes deep and bright at the same time, and he receives a peck on the forehead. 

Harry blushes, cheeks coloring, because the last time they were here Tom did the same thing, but there were fewer clothes between them.

Tom smirks, and Harry just huffs a breath from embarrassment as he is dragged away to go to wherever they should go next. 

*

He's now actually surprised they are headed for the Headmaster's office. Harry squeezes Tom's hand, "I thought you wanted to go to the Chamber?"

"There's something I need to get back. Something that was taken from me when Dumbledore visited us at the orphanage," Tom says and then tries to murmur a Parseltongue spell on the gargoyle. They know the spell works when the stone stairs eventually roll upwards. 

They both hold their wands before them, guarded and unsure if anyone from the faculty has hidden in there. It's been days since the last attack, but war is war, and to stay alive has always been at the forefront of their minds. 

Harry feels the barrier before he sees the rune markings on the door. Tom taps his yew wand twice on the translucent veil, as Harry pushes a bit of his magic by directing it on one of the main runes. They see it crack, and the barrier dissolves into thin air. Harry walks closer to his companion and waves a _Protego _over them both just as Tom opens the door.

Thankfully, the room is empty save for the portraits currently frozen above and around them. Harry, ever vigilant and always worrying over Tom despite their promises to each other when they were younger, waves his wand twice then thrice to keep overpowered shield charms on them. He casts checking charms, then flippantly starts to open the drawers near him. 

"It seems we're free to snoop to our heart's content. What are we looking for?" he asks just as he passes Tom a pile of letters and a couple of journals in a box. Tom looks down and frowns, but trusts Harry enough not to hand him junk. Tom walks closer to the shelves behind the headmaster's desk and unceremoniously drops the box on the floor. Harry rolls his eyes but shivers in delight as Tom proceeds to wandlessly pull everything out; trinkets and metal instruments, old books, fraying parchment papers and glass containers float up and about. Harry should start looking for… whatever it is Tom is looking for. He'll probably recognize it. Probably.

And since Tom seems to be focused entirely for this _thing, _he doesn't hear the tiny chirps from a corner of the room.

Harry listens intently, and carefully steps around the things Tom discards on the floor, and finds the golden perch where the famed Phoenix often sings. He hears the chirp loud and clear, sees the dusty chick buried halfway in ash turning to him, sensing his approach. Its eyes are still closed, lids a fleshy pink and Harry sees when it stops all movement as he stands before it. 

He doesn't know what happens to a Familiar Phoenix when its master dies or gets ill, so Harry, somehow forgetting his mind for a second, ends up cupping his hands under the chick and holds it before himself. 

His heart suddenly jumps in fear when he realizes Tom has stopped dropping items and tendrils of his magic has wrapped thickly around Harry like skin. 

Harry notices the ashes form from the perch—it rises and solidifies into thin shards of blades; a series of long, metallic rods—all of it pointed at the chick who apparently, decides to just slump and sleep soundly. Harry sighs in relief. 

"That wasn't very smart of you," Tom says, his voice a mix of anger and worry, his magic warm and pulsing over Harry. Harry inclines his head in response, but doesn't let go of the dozing baby phoenix. 

"Did you find what you're looking for?" Harry murmurs, voice tinged with guilt, head bowed as he walks towards Tom.

"Hm."

Tom holds a palm-sized box in his right hand, while the fingers on his left shift their grip on his Yew wand.

When Harry looks up at him, Tom's face is hard, but his eyes rove over Harry, still checking if there is anything affecting him at all. 

This fills him with warmth and he gives Tom a fond smile. He stands on his tiptoes, brushes his nose on Tom's, and feels Tom freeze on his lips as he kisses him on the cheek and says—

"Sorry."

*

"We better get her out of here," Harry's voice is muffled under his fingers from where he tries to cover his nose from the smell of sewer water. The stench of dead rats and decay along with the crunching of bones beneath their feet isn't exactly a romantic image for a stroll back to Hogwarts. Tom flicks his wand outwards and upwards, the air changing, moving, and Harry is again charmed (always charmed) because the smell goes away in an instant. Harry then flicks his own wand, the Holly humming beneath his fingers as he rolls soft balls of flames to light up their way. 

The phoenix chick is safely ensconced in the folds of Harry's hood. Tom watches it from time to time, and keeps his protections in place. He carefully brushes a twirl of Harry's wayward fringe from his forehead. Harry hums, eyes closing, content. 

"I'm wondering if she'd prefer to be shrunk or just let out through the courtyard." Tom says when it seems he has filled his quota of trying to touch Harry's hair for the current hour or so, but Harry knows he'll avoid using magic on his other familiar. Shrinking the basilisk to Nagini's size and parading her in the manor would be lovely though. Harry snorts as he imagines the chaos that would befall Tom's lackeys if that ever happens. 

He starts when Tom's touch on his cheek registers, a finger sliding down lightly on the side of his mouth.

"Care to share what your conniving mind is up to?" Tom says and his lips twitch trying to hold back a smile. Harry holds onto Tom's hand once he lets it fall. 

"Would you be opposed to a basilisk roaming around the halls at home? Nagini could use someone to help her watch at night," Harry says, flashing Tom a smirk so like his own. They walk hand in hand, their steps echoing in the expanse of the pipes, the glow of the flame orbs forming a halo around them. 

It was cold down there but Harry was _warm, warm, warm_. 

They eventually open the Chamber, and greetings with the Basilisk are exchanged. Harry still has trouble pronouncing her name correctly in Parseltongue and gets an affectionate nudge from her nose. She agrees to cause some trouble at home that Harry, delighted to be allowed for some chaos, squeezes Tom in a tight hug out of joy (his vindictive streak hasn't left him upon entering Hogwarts but enabled it more.) 

Tom hugs him back and whispers, "I call first dibs to ride her on Malfoy's lawn," in his ear and Harry _laughs_, and the sound is so beautiful and bright and just for them that Tom presses kisses to his hair.

*

The Slytherin entrance appears to have been moved again to another wall. Harry snickers to himself, and ends up muffling his laughter on Tom's shoulder. There's something comedic and precious watching a (recently identified) Dark Lord speaking to plain, unassuming walls for over half an hour. 

But they get to the right one, and the stone wall opens to the luminescent glow of the Slytherin common room. It's still as ethereal and mystical to Harry as the first day he had seen it. Still ethereal, mystical and unearthly as he watches Tom walk towards one of the Black Lake's floor to ceiling glass windows.

The ripples of water and the shifting of light paints him untouchable, yet human. 

_ He belongs here, _Harry thinks and his heart aches, eyes riveted on Tom. This is their home. 

_(Here and everywhere. As long as they are together.) _

*****

*****

_ When Tom lit the fire, Harry knew. _

_ They both watch, mesmerized as it rapidly eats the dilapidated and wobbly shack. _

_ Their hands are dirty from the damp soil and dried blood. Harry watches the dead eyes of the countless snakes they carefully brought out from under Morfin's bed. _

_ His tears fall by the seventh snake he buries, and Tom readily accepts him when he pushes his face on his chest. _

_ He remembers the dark green colored snake that died repeatedly under Mrs. Cole's shoe. He remembers watching Billy Stubbs' rabbit hanging, eyes closed, a pale tongue dangling like a broken pendulum. _

_ It was a quick death, a swift break from Tom's hand in their tiny room with one bed and one pillow and one thin blanket. _

_ He told Tom it was cruel, but Tom said it was mercy. He believed him. He believes in him. _

_ Morfin screams. _

_ This is mercy, but he does not deserve it. _

** _I believe in him._ ** _ Harry repeats, and they watch the smoke rise with clearer eyes. _

*****

*

The phoenix is awake so Harry lets it down and leaves it to explore. The Basilisk seems to vibrate with so much energy and slithers on the floor, careful and watchful to play nanny over another mythical creature (Nagini and Hedwig would be pleased to meet them.) 

The common room appears undisturbed from the fighting, and Harry still marvels at how self-preservation seems to be the (underlying) prominent trait of his house. He knows that the other common rooms were left to the tender care of the Order. Thankfully, most students are unharmed, save for those who are bullheaded enough to try and sneak attacks by agreeing to be messengers for their enemies. 

Legilimency, when used to its maximum, is handy during war. Surface thoughts are good and well but there's nothing more thrilling than prying secrets by force. 

_ **The panic allows you to see everything****,** Tom had said to him during one of their study sessions in the constricted space of their room. _

_ Mrs. Cole, the alcoholic matron would merely brush it off as a hangover. They had shared a secretive smile over bland porridge and mashed potatoes._

_**Quite convenient**, Harry had said back. _

As he waits for Tom to finish his snooping? or is it raiding perhaps? of the Slytherin dorms, Harry sits on one of his favorite sofas (big enough for three but has always been for two), fluffs a few pillows and makes himself comfortable. He watches the ripples sway from the window, the underwater ferns waving along the currents, the kaleidoscope of emerald and silver dancing behind his eyes, and steadily it lulls him… 

*

*****

_ He's so tall_, Harry thinks as he, well he has to tilt his head back to look at Tom in the eye when they talk. _When did he get this tall! _And he proceeds to glare at Tom's legs underneath his cloak. 

"My eyes are up here, Harry," Tom says. 

The remark makes Harry's cheeks tint pink, and he shoves the small satchel into Tom's chest, "There's three books in there...better bring that to me by midnight so I can sneak it back in the library!" and he pulls away, his fingers letting go of the strap before Tom gets a hold of his hand. 

He mutters, _stupid tall charming arseholes _under his breath as he flees. 

Harry doesn't see the full smile that graces Tom's face, and the Slytherin Prefect is just too happy and warm to keep up appearances. 

*****

Tom is smitten. Seeing Harry's anger explode, his eyes sharper than a knife, the green flashing like thunder, and his casting—_quicker, faster and rapid_—no one else can match nor extinguish this fire. Tom would gladly hand him his enemies if he gets to see his ferocious star shine bright.

_(A storm. The lion in the dungeon. His own. His Harry.)_

He stands there, still badly bruised but not bleeding any longer, watching, his gaze unceasing _(he wants, and wants)_ just as Harry whips his wand to fire an extremely powered _Diffindo _towards a wand arm. 

A wail of pain, a silent flash of green light, and a body drops. One, and then _two_, _and then three—_

Tom shivers in Harry's power, and his affections for Harry bloom within him, the roar inhuman and all-consuming. Harry approaches, eyes still bright, _his lightning _still deadly. Tom doesn't hesitate to pull him closer, Harry's magic curling over them both, (protective, poisonous) and Tom presses a bloody smile, then a laugh into his neck. 

"We're safe. You're okay," Harry mumbles into his hair, Harry's fingers grasping at his torn robes.

_ Harry, Harry, Harry. _

"We're safe," Tom agrees. And he covets. 

** _He believes in Him too. _ **

*****

They sit, glum, hand in hand in one of the compartments. Harry left Hedwig at the Owlery, and Tom left Nagini in the Forbidden Forest. They will not endanger their friends in the mindless war happening in Muggle London.

The heavy bang of the Headmaster's office door closing behind them rings in their ears—

They see Dumbledore watch them as they climb up the Express—

Tom can taste the bitter 'No' from Dippet, and Harry had molded himself to Tom's side as if it would protect them from getting their hopes shot down. 

Inside, they both shake in anger and despair, _would they live to see the next school year? _

Harry lays his head on Tom's shoulder. Tom sighs, his pale hand squeezing Harry's briefly. 

_ Together_. They'll survive. 

*****

  
*

The Phoenix sings a lullaby.   
  
Harry recognizes it; a song that was once sung to him when he wakes up from a nightmare, one where he and Tom often whisper about in bed.

There are fingers rubbing tiny circles on his nape, and when he inhales, he smells Tom. He is warm.

The song turns into a duet, Tom singing, humming along, and Harry can feel it vibrate beneath his ear where his head lies on Tom's chest. 

He watches as the Basilisk surround the weeping chick like a shield, its scales appearing black and out of reach from the lake water's reflection.

_(He's at home, where he can hear Nagini hissing at Hedwig with demands to bring her food, to the way Tom slips his fingers onto Harry's, the bed dipping with his weight, a soft kiss bestowed upon his forehead.)_

He feels the caress of Tom's thumb, and in his slow and cottony mind, he realizes something solid encircling his ring finger. Harry tries to look up from where Tom is holding onto him, but then the lullaby stops and Tom speaks—

_(Tom's voice in his ear and in his head and in his heart altogether—) _

"Will you marry me, Harry?" 

Harry hums, finally, turns his head to press a kiss under Tom's jaw, and says—

"Yes."

Tom seems pleased and resumes his duet with the Phoenix, and Harry is more than happy to go back to sleep. 

Somewhere in the manor, the Cloak of Invisibility shimmers,

On the glass table, under the watchful eyes of a young Dark Lord, the Elder Wand is restored anew, 

And on the ring finger of perhaps another young Dark Lord, the Peverell mark within the Resurrection Stone lights up, marking the beginning of a new era.

**Author's Note:**

> "I didn't know you could sing."  
"Well, I need to keep you on your toes."
> 
> Thanks for reading! ❤️


End file.
